Soul Mama Souths Southern Soul Food Shack

Michael Whiner, semi-retired film maker, part-time restaurant critic, full time loud-mouth and the enfant-terrible of the British film industry; chews over the week's events.

This week Michael pays a visit to Soul Mama South’s Southern Soul Food Shack – a blend of “good ol’ cookin’ n’ hospitality”. Here, Mama South’s famous African-American recipes meet West London restaurant prices. The food at Mama South’s may be spicy but the atmosphere is cool.

However, much of that will be lost on Michael, who as usual, is already in full flow…

“This is Creole Chicken Gumbo is it? Hmm. Nice and spicy. A touch impetuous on the palate but a creditable effort. Which is more then I can say for the Pickled Pig Feet, which quite frankly aren’t my thing. The taste is brash with an almost alkaline quality. Still this Punch is certainly hitting the spot. Another flagon my good woman!

So Pinewood Studios are having a bit of a rocky patch are they? Their profits have dived by around seven million pounds this year.

Can’t say I’m terribly surprised myself. It seems to me that the problem is that it’s just too expensive to make films in this country. When I think back to my heydays in the early eighties you couldn’t get studio space for love nor money because they were all full of whatever epic Spielberg, Lucas, Kubrick or whoever was making at the time. We had a steady stream of films from abroad being shot here because it was acknowledged that British crews were among the best in the world.

Now studios would much rather shoot somewhere like Australia that just so happens to offer some very attractive tax breaks for films made there. Fortunately, Gordon Brown finally seems to have taken notice and is now allowing tax relief on films that spend at least 25% of their budgets in the UK.

All good news and I’m delighted about it. But consider this, he was originally only going to offer tax breaks on films that spent a whopping %40 of their budgets here, a scheme that would have had Hollywood running back to Australia quicker then you can say “Mine’s a Fosters”. Perhaps in future he might like to consult with somebody who actually understands a bit about making films and not just balancing ledgers? My fee is negotiable if he’s interested.

Waiter! Where’s my Peach Cobbler and Sour Cream Cake? I’m bloody ravenous over here!

It’s well known that I hate celebrities. It’s also well known that I hate celebrities who talk utter bilge. You know the kind of thing, those people who mangle the English language into ever-stranger shapes in an effort to sound intellectual. The latest exponent of this noble art is Jennifer Aniston. You’ll remember her; she’s the woman who had a part in a high profile American sitcom, had a high profile American wedding to high profile American film star Brad Pitt and is now undergoing a high profile American divorce.

Well it seems that she’s had enough of being pitied, “Don't make me your victim”, she says. “I'm so tired of being part of this sick, twisted Bermuda Triangle. All I can do is go on and live my life.” Now, the victim part I understand. But the Bermuda Triangle? At which point do her marital difficulties resemble an area of ocean where boats and planes tend to vanish into thin air?

Answers on a postcard please.”

Cheers,

Michael